Every actor who has played Spider-Man, ranked from worst to best

“Across the Spider-Verse” is filled with dozens of cameos of various webheads across the multiverse. Samberg’s Scarlet Spider has a slightly larger-than-cameo presence, so we’re including him.

Samberg’s version of Ben Reilly — who, in the comics, is a clone of Peter Parker — is mainly there to serve as comic relief, as his hyper-serious depression about all his trauma pokes fun at the anti-hero palooza that was the late ’90s.

He’s good, and a much-needed source of laughs, but since he’s barely a real character, we can’t rank him higher.

Pine’s voice has this swagger that makes him perfect for the Spider-Man that dies in Miles Morales’ universe in “Into the Spider-Verse.” 

But then the montage of everything his Spider-Man has pulled off (even the Christmas album) is perfect.

If this is the only time Pine will play Spider-Man, he made the most of it.

We wish we could’ve had more time with this version of the character, but since his screentime was so fleeting, he’s toward the bottom of the list.

Spider-Ham gave us some major comedic relief in “Into the Spider-Verse” and it’s thanks to the vocal talents of John Mulaney. Sony should do a spin-off show focused on the adventures of Spider-Ham.

However, while Spider-Ham appeared in “Across the Spider-Verse” in 2023, he was downgraded to a non-speaking cameo, so we’re waiting to see if Mulaney comes back for “Beyond the Spider-Verse” in 2027 and bumps himself up the list.

The first variant Miles meets in “Across the Spider-Verse” is
Pavitr Prabhakar, aka Spider-Man India, who lives in the city of Mumbattan, a combination of Manhattan and Mumbai.

He’s voiced by Soni, probably best known for playing Dopinder in all three “Deadpool” films. Soni utilizes the innocent, gentle charm his voice has to great success in “Across the Spider-Verse.” We cheered when we realized he joined Gwen’s team of rebels at the end of the film.

Spider-Man 2099 appears in dramatic fashion at the end of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” only to get into a funny argument with 1967-era Spider-Man.

However, when we meet him again in “Across the Spider-Verse,” we see how much of a threat this futuristic Spider-Man really is. That’s boosted by Isaac’s intimidating, serious voice that rings throughout this film. He’s genuinely scary!

However, since he’s a villain (at least, he’s a villain in Miles’ story), we can’t have him higher.

Cage’s version of Spider-Man, known as Spider-Noir or the Spider, is the first character from the animated “Spider-Verse” movies to make the jump to live-action — and we’re grateful.

Cage commits fully to playing a 1930s noir detective in both the animated film and his live-action TV series, especially with the ol’ timey voice he puts on, which made his character such a standout in the first place.

We think that Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir” is somehow already underrated, even though it only came out earlier this year.

Although this ranking doesn’t include TV Spideys, “Spider-Noir” is the only modern live-action Spider-Man series. Since Cage originated this version of the character in the movies, we think his performance in the show is relevant.

Spider-Noir, like Spider-Ham, was just a non-speaking cameo in “Across the Spider-Verse,” but it’s been reported that Cage will be back for “Beyond the Spider-Verse” in 2027.

There’s no version of Spider-Man cooler than Kaluuya’s portrayal of Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk, a Black British version of Spider-Man who’s constantly questioning authority.

Kaluuya voices him as a Spidey with such ease and confidence, a marked difference from Peter Parker and Miles Morales. It’s no wonder Deadline reported Sony was looking into producing a spin-off film about the adventures of Hobie in 2025.

Here’s what we’ll say about Garfield, who is probably pound-for-pound the best actor to have worn the mask in live-action: his version of Spider-Man is great, with just the right balance of quippy and endearing.

It’s his version of Peter that we can’t really get behind. It doesn’t help that “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Amazing Spider-Man 2” aren’t good films, but he’s never convincingly the awkward teen that we know Peter to be. He skateboards, for crying out loud. He also pulls Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, with minimal effort. Peter Parker needs to be slightly more pathetic.

However, he gains points for his performance in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” where he convincingly plays a version of Peter who’s been mourning a significant loss for almost a decade and is almost out the other side.

Is he, actually, the best part of “No Way Home”? There’s certainly a case to be made. He has a moment with Zendaya’s MJ that’s nearly impossible not to tear up at, and for that, he makes the top five.

How can you not love what Johnson did as a Peter Parker in crisis in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”?

Playing the Spider-Man who ends up in Miles Morales’ universe and helps him harness his powers (though back in his world, he’s washed up and has split with Mary Jane Watson), Johnson’s wit and sarcasm are perfect for a Spider-Man who needs to rediscover himself.

He remains the beating heart of this crew in “Across the Spider-Verse,” where we see him balance his love for Miles with his perceived responsibilities to the Spider Society, as well as his status as a new dad.

He’s basically Nick Miller, but Spider-Man. It’s perfect. We want more of this, please.

This is the one that all the actors who play Spidey are trying to live up to (and two have surpassed).

At 26, Maguire, though in no way the right age for the role, still convinced all of us that he was Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the first big movie franchise of the character. He’s perfectly awkward — but it still tracks that Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane would be into him — and he has such an inherent sweetness that carries over from the original ’60s version of the character.

It was satisfying to see him come full circle in “No Way Home” and act as a mentor for Tom Holland’s version of Peter, and to see him interact with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, nearly two decades on.

Moore delivers an inspiring performance as Miles Morales in “Spider-Verse,” perfectly capturing the roller-coaster ride of self-discovery that his first film depicts.

We’ve seen the Spider-Man origin story seemingly countless times, but watching Miles, who lives in an alternate universe where Peter Parker is killed by Kingpin, go through his own version felt fresh thanks to Moore’s performance and the film’s spectacular (no pun intended) visuals.

He’s even better in “Across the Spider-Verse,” where he has to grow up and decide to go against the entire multiverse of Spider-People to save his dad.

Bring on the third film!

It’s really hard to get any better than the latest actor who played the live-action Spider-Man.

At the beginning of his journey a decade ago, Holland was the perfect age to play a believable teen Peter Parker.

In total, Holland has appeared as the webhead in seven films, including two “Avengers” films and a “Captain America” film, giving us the most time with his version of the character.

We hope that the anticipated success of “Brand New Day,” the newest Spider-Man movie, will guarantee Holland is playing Peter Parker ’til he’s 90.